David Perez, 43

David Perez, a 43-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Friday, March 11, in the 26700 block of Isabella Parkway in Canyon Country, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

The incident began about 9:10 p.m. when a resident of the apartment complex called the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to report that he was home alone with his 8-month-old son, and a man was trying to break into his apartment, Lt. John Corina said.

The intruder, later identified as Perez, was talking to the resident and kept trying to enter the house, even though the resident, a 22-year-old man, repeatedly told him to leave, Corina said.

When the resident refused to open the door, Perez broke the window next to the door and started crawling inside the apartment, Corina said.

“That’s when this guy, fearing for the safety of himself and his kid, shoots," Corina said.

Perez was struck multiple times by gunfire, Corina said. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 9:57 p.m., according to coroner’s records. The autopsy results are still pending.

Investigators don’t know why Perez was trying to enter the apartment. Perez was unarmed, and “kept saying stuff to try to get into the apartment,” but Corina said he couldn’t specify what Perez said.

Perez did live in another section of the large apartment complex, with his wife and children, Corina said, but the resident said he didn’t know him.

“It doesn’t make much sense,” Corina said. “We have no information about any mental problems … He may have been intoxicated, but you’d have to be awful drunk to be doing that.”

Investigators are hoping the autopsy and toxicology tests will shed more light on Perez’s actions.

The resident, whose name has not been released, used his own registered handgun in the shooting, Corina said. He lives in the apartment with his baby and wife, who was at work at the time of the shooting.

Investigators spoke with the resident, but he was never arrested, Corina said.

It will be up to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office to determine whether the resident should face criminal charges in Perez's death, he said.

Investigators turned over their information to prosecutors this week, but no decision has been made about whether charges will be filed, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.